First of all welcome to my site. My interest in radio and everything related to it started in 1974 when radio Veronica, a popular pirate station that broadcasted from the North Sea, was forced to quit. What kind of station was that, and were there more of such pirate stations?
In my then hometown, there turned out to be three pirate stations that broadcasted above 100 MHz on the FM band (that was still possible at the time). And I was amazed to hear that a neighbor of an aunt and uncle also had a transmitter. Unfortunately, my parents weren’t such a fan of that illegal stuff, so there was no way I could have my own transmitter.
On March 3, 1980, the MARC, the Machtiging Algemene Radio Communicatie, was approved, which allowed anyone to use the 27 MC band with approved equipment. One of my school friends got a Senfor Skyline SM-2008, and, because my parents again didn’t think it was a good idea, I was forced to spend a few hours behind the transceiver at my boyfriend’s house.
The weekly TV guide then had a special page highlighting all aspects of the 27MC. This included descriptions of new equipment. I learned about the existence of transceivers like the Atron CB307, Amroh CB007, Amroh CB707 De Luxe (which I really liked at the time), Audio Sonic MS-211, Hycom CB3000, Philips AP-369, and others. At that time, there was also a monthly magazine called Break Break, which I read many copies of.
The interest in pirate stations had not disappeared, and that is how I came to know about a magazine called Free Radio Magazine. I have bought many copies of that magazine that described everything about pirate stations and DIY.
But it would take until the end of the 80s before I would start experimenting with radio myself. I bought a 27 MC transceiver, the Midland 77-104, and came into contact someone who could make printed circuit boards himself. With the print layout for a Stentor, the first step was taken, and many hours of soldering and experimenting later, the first self-built FM transmitter was a fact. Let’s not talk about stability, but it did work.
But a couple of MRF 237s later, I decided I wanted something more powerful, so I started building a 50W FM stereo transmitter. I hadn’t read anything about SWR yet, so the power amplifier lasted precisely 2 minutes. And then the experiment stopped.
The same guy who provided me the PCB asked if I was interested in joining the local radio station, which I did. After several local radio stations, a lot of fun but also frustration I decided to end my career as a radio DJ and program maker.
From where I lived, I had a view of the antennas of the regional 70cm repeater PI2FLD, and I got interested again. So in 2006 I decided to go for the Novice license to start with. That worked, and I was able to work the amateur bands as PD0PRS.
About 5 years later, I decided to go for my Full license and took an exam. Unfortunately, I turned out to have made 1 mistake too much, but on closer inspection, there appeared to be an error in the exam, and I passed. However before that decision was communicated I had already re-taken the exam and passed. PD0PRS was switched into PG2P, which I held for over 10 years until I decided to change my callsign into PA2PR, a better-sounding callsign on the HF bands.
